Neighbours first and foremost
By Nazry Bahrawi
Malaysia will scour the globe to seek investments for its massive 2,217-sq-km Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in southern Johor, but Singapore companies would be its main clients.
By year's end, total investments by Singapore firms into the IDR could amount to RM85 million ($38.5 million) in terms of purchased industrial plots.
"We are at an early stage but at the moment, Singapore companies are leading the way," said Mr Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, managing director of UEM Land, the project's key developer, at a seminar here to sell land in the IDR's Nusajaya region to Singaporeans on Tuesday.
Sales of industrial land totalling RM45 million have been tied up with two Singapore companies, he said. HG Metal Manufacturing invested RM24 million when it bought 27 acres in mid-February. Another undisclosed Singaporean electronics firm pumped in RM21 million to secure plots measuring 17 acres.
Another RM40 million worth of industrial land sales with five other Singaporean investors will be finalised over the next six months.
"So far, there has been no big obstacle in getting Singaporean business," said Mr Wan Abdullah.
Interest in the project has picked up after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last week in Langkawi, where they announced the formation of a joint ministerial committee to oversee cooperation in the IDR.
On Tuesday, officials from UEM Land and Iskandar Region Development Authority — the Malaysian government agency that manages investment matters pertaining to the IDR — unveiled details about Nusajaya to about 400 businessmen. The project comprises an industrial park, a waterfront precinct, theme parks, an education city, a medical park and residential areas.
The charm offensive yielded lucrative results. Four Singaporeans each bought a two-and-a-half-storey semi-detached house worth RM1 million at the exclusive Horizon Hills property in Nusajaya, said Ms Teo Lee Ean, sales and marketing manager of Arapesona Development, which manages the site.
Singaporeans already make up about 35 per cent of homeowners at Ledang Heights, another exclusive site at Nusajaya, according to Mr Wan Abdullah.
Addressing homeowners' concerns about security, he said: "We are at the stage of closing an agreement with a multinational company to look into providing a world-class security environment for Nusajaya."
Meanwhile, Nusajaya's education landscape will also be boosted by two recent deals — a medical faculty for the United Kingdom's University of Newscastle, and a private institution managed by iCarnegie, an educational affiliate of United States-based Carnegie Mellon University.
Mr Wan Abdullah also hopes that the National University of Singapore will jump on the IDR bandwagon.
-channelnewsasia.com
